


A Phantom Halloween

by alvahana



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Halloween, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27222757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alvahana/pseuds/alvahana
Summary: The Phantom Thieves of Hearts was disbanded, but Halloween gives them another chance to relive their good old glory days.——In which Akechi plays the gang's babysitter...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

“I still think this is a terrible idea.” Makoto voiced her concern for the sixth time in the past half hour.

“Chill out!” Ryuji had an ear-to-ear grin plastered on his face. “No one really knows what we wore back in the days. We’re safe!”

“If it was a year ago, I’d have sided with you, Makoto,” Akira said. “But we’re no longer in action, so there’s no need to worry about exposing our identities.”

Makoto sighed. “Well…I suppose that’s true…”

“I have to admit I do miss my outfit tremendously,” Yusuke chimed in as he admired the details on his sleeve. “Wearing it again during this festive time brings back fond memories from our old days in the Metaverse.”

“I’m glad you like it, Yusuke!” Haru said cheerfully.

“Thanks! Haru and I worked really hard to make these Halloween costumes for you guys, you know.” Ann added with her signature wink.

At that the teenagers took a moment to regard their clothes. They, the ex-Phantom Thieves of Hearts, were all wearing their respective battle suit. It had been nearly a year since they last went into the Metaverse, yet having the outfit on again felt strangely familiar.

Akechi was the first to snap out of the nostalgic moment. “Not that I don’t appreciate you including me in your little cosplay party. But why am I in my Robin Hood suit instead of Loki?”

“Oh…you don’t like it, Akechi-kun?” There was a little disappointment in Haru’s voice.

“It’s just…a little too flashy. I’d prefer Loki’s dark apparel.”

“Hey I say it suits your showy personality just fine, Detective Prince.” Ryuji teased as he nudged Akechi with an elbow, which was rewarded with an overly charming smile the latter used to have during his appearance on television.

“Say one more word and I’d strangle you, Sakamoto.” Ryuji’s laughter immediately cut off.

Akira chuckled at the scene. “Be nice, guys.”

“But Lady Ann, your suit looked different from my memory.” Morgana, wearing a mini version of his Metaverse mask sans the tool belt, noted as he jumped onto Ann’s shoulder. Ann instantly covered her chest area with both hands.

“I–I made some changes to the original. It’s just too…revealing. Not to mention I’d be freezing wearing that outside at night!” Yusuke was now making a frame with his thumbs and index fingers at Ann, and Makoto cleared her throat.

“So what should we do now? I assume we wouldn’t be just staying in LeBlanc after Ann and Haru went through all the troubles to make us these.”

“About that, hehee–” Futaba, silent till now, said in an ominous tone.

Makoto narrowed her eyes. “I really don’t like the sound of that, Futaba…”

“Kana-chan told me there’s a really fun haunted house in–” Futaba bounced in excitement.

“NO!” Makoto snapped.

“But–”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”

“Whhhhhhhhy…I was really looking forward to it…”

“You know Makoto doesn’t like ghosts, Futaba,” Akira patted the younger girl’s head as he continued, “I’ll go with you next year, okay?” Futaba gave him a pouty nod.

“How about we go join the street party in Shibuya?” Haru suggested, both hands clasped together. “I hear it’s going to be huge this year!”

“Awesome! I’ve always wanted to check these street parties out!” Ryuji yelled in excitement, and was met with a round of eager agreement. The teenagers proceeded to walk down the stairs leading to the café area, leaving Akechi and Akira behind.

“I suppose I don’t have a say in this.” Akechi sighed, defeated.

“Come on, Akechi. It’ll be fun,” Akira said with a light pat on his shoulder, and the two joined their friends downstairs. They were in time to see Sojiro gaping at the sight of the kids.

“What’re you all wearing? Some kind of anime costumes?”

“See? Not even Sojiro knows we’re dressing up as our alter ego in the Metaverse." Futaba grinned. "We’re totally safe going out in these!”

“Wait, _this_ was how you looked like when you were doing all that heart-stealing stuff last year?”

Akira shrugged with a smirk playing on his lips.

“Sojiroooo, how do I look?”

“Ridiculous.” Sojiro tried a deadpan, but couldn’t quite hide the amusement behind his tone. The girl stuck her tongue out.

“Akechi-kun, since you’re the oldest, I’m going to ask you to look after these kids – Don’t let them do anything stupid.”

“I’ll try my best but won’t make any promises, Sakura-san.” Akechi glanced sideways at the sudden commotion of Ryuji tackling on Akira with a headlock, Futaba cheering both of them, and the rest of the gang simply standing by the side watching the fight.

 _This is going to be a long night._ Akechi could already feel an ache forming around the temples.

“Have fun, kids.” Sojiro shook his head fondly as the teenagers waved him goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a few days early – but Happy Halloween!
> 
> I know this is kinda short, but I might write a follow-up if muse strikes. We'll see! ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I managed to squeeze a follow-up chapter out before Halloween! Enjoy :)

As predicted, no one gave Akira and his friends suspicious look on the way to Shibuya, probably thinking they were just cosplaying characters that were never heard of. The train was more packed than usual, with crowds of costume-clad passengers flocking to the city center, and the nine of them had to split into two groups to get into the train. By the time they walked out of Shibuya Station, the area was already cramped with tons of Halloween revelers dressed up in all kinds of colorful costumes. The Shibuya Crossing was closed off from traffic and there seemed to be a massive Halloween-themed parade going on as huge crowds were gathering around the intersection and shouting in joy. The group managed to squeeze their way through the tide of people and found a good spot where they could enjoy the show.

Futaba, Makoto and Haru stayed close together in the front row, letting out cheers and gasps in astonishment every now and then. Futaba, being the shortest, were on tiptoe the whole time, but that didn’t seem to bring her excitement down. Akira had been worried the introverted girl might be overwhelmed by the crowd, and it looked like his concern was uncalled for.

“Having fun, Futaba?”

“WOOHOOOOO!!” was the only response the girl spared him, her whole attention devoted to the parade. Akira watched her with an amused smile for a while before taking a glance at his other friends.

Trying to get a better view, Morgana had left his usual spot on Akira’s shoulder and chosen the head of Yusuke, the tallest of them all, as his reserved seat. The not-feline was hugging Yusuke’s head tightly with his paws and making his hair a mess. The lanky boy didn’t seem to mind or notice, as he was gazing the scene in front with breathless interest, probably in an attempt to commit it to his memory and recreate it in canvas later.

Standing a little further away from the group were Ryuji and Ann. The two blonds were huddling close to each other, watching the performance with a similarly joyous expression. Akira didn’t miss that Ryuji had his hand resting protectively on the small of Ann’s back. He thought this was cute, and made a mental reminder to grill Ryuji about the meaning behind this gesture later.

Akechi was standing in the back. To Akira’s surprise, the detective seemed to be enjoying the parade as much as the others, and actually looked happy. His smile was not the fake one he put on whenever he was on television, but a sincere one Akira got to see more and more in the past months.

“It’s been a long time.” A bit of embarrassment crossed Akechi’s face when he noticed Akira’s gaze.

“Oh?”

“I haven’t been to anything like this since…since I could remember.” He explained. “It’s an interesting experience, I have to admit.”

“Never a day of boredom with us Phantom Thieves, right?” Akechi replied with a chuckle.

The gang continued to watch the parade for a while longer before they decided to head towards the Central Street, where people were less packed and rowdy. On their way, some guy came up to Ann and complimented on her suit, saying it was “a fiery rendition of Catwoman”, to which she answered with a polite ‘thank you’ and Ryuji with a spiteful glare.

Akira was about to comment, but was stopped by a young girl dressed up as Sailor Moon asking for a selfie together. At first he was confused by her invitation and it then dawned on him she must had mistook his Joker outfit as Tuxedo Mask’s. With a flush, he crouched down and took the selfie using her phone, but not before he glared at Ann and Futaba snapping shots of them, Yusuke holding up his hands to imitate a picture frame, and Makoto and Haru tittering while watching the scene. Even Akechi’s lips twisted as he fought back laughter.

“Aw Joker, always the charmer.”

“Let’s go.” Akira could feel the heat radiating from his cheeks. It was a good thing his mask was covering half of his face.

It took like forever, but in the end they made it to the Central Street, letting out relieved sighs in chorus.

“Phew…thought I was gonna get squashed like sardines!” Ryuji breathed out.

“Sardines?! Where are they?!” Still perched on Yusuke’s shoulder, Morgana’s ears perked up at the mention of one of his favorite foods. Haru giggled and scratched his chin.

“It’s just a metaphor, Mona-chan!”

It was at that moment someone bumped into Akira’s back. He stumbled slightly before regaining balance, and heard the other mumbling apologies. His eyes widened as he turned around and saw the guy was dressed in a nearly identical black outfit as his own suit. Morgana also noticed and shouted.

“What’s the matter, Morgana?” Yusuke asked.

“Am I seeing double or are there two Jokers in front of us?” Morgana pointed his paw towards the said figures, getting the rest of the group’s attention.

“There _are_ two Jokers!” Haru covered her mouths with both hands.

“No! One of them must be a fraud!” Ann said.

Not that it wasn’t obvious which one of the two was their leader, who always had a certain aura whenever he was in his Metaverse outfit. Just like now, with both hands shoved inside the trousers’ pockets, the real Joker’s demeanor spoke of nonchalant and casual confidence, while the imposter was hunching his shoulders looking somewhat defeated. Not to mention Akira was a few inches taller and his attire was more detailed and well-fitted.

“Be careful everyone, that’s Joker’s Shadow!” Makoto warned, mischievousness obvious in her tone. She shifted into her battle pose, fists poised in front of her chest.

“We must defeat him and save our leader!” Haru went along and the others nodded in agreement playfully, except for Akechi, who had his arms crossed in front of his chest. Akira smirked, eager to see how the scene would play out. Their reactions seemed to have rattled the fake Joker, who was now holding both his hands out in defense.

“I’m–I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–”

“Ah!” Ryuji pointed at him. “That voice…Mishima, is that you?!”

“Wait, what’s Nishima the NPC doing here!?” Futaba exclaimed.

“It’s Mishima…” The boy stammered nervously, motioning to Akira. “I was dressing up as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, obviously…” He then noticed Akechi. “Uhh…who is he? I thought you’re a group of eight, including the cat?”

“Tell him I’m not a cat!”

“He’s my archenemy.”

“We dunno know that guy. He’s stalkin’ us.”

“Heh, just call him Detective Princey.”

Akechi rolled his eyes at their rambling almost in unison. “Don’t listen to these idiots. I’ve been tasked with keeping them from doing anything stupid. Consider me the babysitter for the night.”

“O–Okay…” Mishima looked even more confused at the explanation. Ann walked up to take a closer look at the apparel, then put a hand to her chin in thought.

“Wait, how’d you even know what Akira’s outfit was like? You’ve never been to the Metaverse.”

“Uh…I–I kept a copy of the video you broadcasted on last December. The one you called Shido out? You guys were wearing some kind of battle uniform in that. It was dimly lit but I managed to make out Akira’s.”

“Dude, you’re such a geek.” Ryuji rolled his eyes.

“Nice cosplay, Mishima.” Akira clapped his classmate on the back. The latter’s mask did nothing to conceal the look of glee on his face.

“I think we’ve seen everything there’s to see. Shall we call it a night?” Akira turned to ask his friends after Mishima excused himself and left.

“But it’s not even midnight yet!” Futaba protested and stomped her foot. “No way am I leaving so early. It’s the only night Sojiro’d let me stay out late!”

“What do you have in mind then?”

“So…” Futaba said with a glint in her eyes. “About that haunted house I mentioned earlier, it actually won’t close until three in the morning–”

“Futaba–” The warning tone was back in Makoto’s word, and that drew out a groan in disappointment from the younger girl. The discussion about their next destination went on for a while before they agreed to go grab a late night snack.

“Now that you mention food, I am aware that I have not had dinner yet.” Yusuke said, which was rewarded with Ann and Makoto’s disapproving look and a lecture about his bad eating habit.

“Big Bang Burger sounds good?” asked Akira finally.

“Certainly.”

“Second that!”

“Fiiiiiine, but I’m having the giant burger and you’re buying!” Futaba said to Akira.

“Oh, that reminds me we’re having a Halloween special of Big Bang Challenge.” Haru spoke up. “Anyone wants to give it a try?”

All eyes went to their leader.

“Don’t look at me. I’ve already cleared the Cosmo Tower Burger and got the Captain Badge. I’m not doing it again.” Akira was proud of his accomplishment, but the experience itself was something he never wanted to relive ever again. His stomach had been so full that day that it was a miracle he didn’t throw everything up afterwards.

“What’s a Big Bang Challenge?” Akechi asked. Hearing his ex-rival claiming the top reward of some contest had his interest piqued, but the instant he saw Haru’s eyes glittered with malicious excitement, he knew he just sealed his own fate.

“I thought you’d never ask, Akechi-kun…”


End file.
